This is my second installment in 2013 on this site – for a brief introduction and background, please see my initial entry.

I left consulting in spring 2010 to join the commercial organization of a large biotech company. In the 3 years since joining this organization, I have grown both personally and professionally, becoming a working mom and finally (finally!) getting a view of my long-term career goals. Yes, I think I have a clue of what I want to be when I grow up. Without boring you with the details, I think I want to lead a large organization in this sector.

So….how do I get there? I’m not quite sure yet, but I’m forming some initial hypotheses. One key question I have been asking myself recently is “what qualities do leaders have?” “What is the ‘secret sauce’?”

Even though I am no longer at the bench, I have spent a great deal of time observing the leaders of organizations to determine what qualities they have to reach the positions they’ve reached: dean of my graduate school, provost at my university, managing partners at the consulting firm, CEO of the biotech company, various other senior leaders at this company, etc. I would like to share what I’ve learned, not because I have these qualities, but because I think it’s valuable to dissect the “It factor” of those in positions the rest of us dream about.

I would like to say that it’s all about the knowledge base. We are scientists – creating knowledge is what we do. It would be a relatively simple thing to become the world’s leading expert on this or that aspect of drug development and commercialization. But you and I both know people who could qualify for this distinction, and yet still are in middle or upper-middle management. So, what gives? What’s the “It factor?”

From what I can tell, the secret sauce lies in the leadership “soft” skills. Side bar: I don’t like the term “soft” skills. It implies that they are less important, calling up images of new-age, wide-eyed folks who use terms like “copacetic.” The term “soft” is the understatement of the year.

From what I can tell, what you know is less important than ensuring that your knowledge is able to propel others. This is not quite the same as being likable (although I think that is also important); it’s more about using what you have to create true synergy. That is, can you apply yourself such that the team/group accomplishes more than the sum of each individual? I think this quality is a common denominator in the leaders I’ve observed.

As I am looking up at these leadership roles from my current position, I have largely chosen roles based on the qualities of the managers I would report to. Will this person authentically partner with me in my professional development? Will this person create a constructive, positive work environment, advocate for me, and provide transparency to organizational leadership? There’s a quote somewhere that people do not leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.

I hypothesize that leaders of large organizations have excelled in this for individuals, and later, groups of increasingly larger sizes. I believe that leaders who have honed these “non-technical” skills are entrusted with roles for which they may not have direct experience. They can excel in these roles because they create a culture of inclusion and can successfully identify and recruit the talent they need. People want to work with them.

So, how to develop these skills? I’m still working on the answer to this, and would like to put forward a hypothesis or two on this in the next blog. In the meantime, I hope that I’ve given a view of what I’m currently focused on as I continue to plan my career.

While I am certain that eloquent books written by these leaders can give much clearer detail on these qualities, I hope it is valuable to report on these leaders from the standpoint of someone not in a leadership role.

These have been some of my key lessons learned, and please recall that this is from my own perspective (an “n” of 1). I am not certain that my experiences are typical, or something that you’d experience. I can say, however, that I still use these learnings now, and I hope they continue to serve me well. I truly hope this is helpful to you as your plot your course. I welcome comments, questions, and your own perspective.